Diane Carey continues to have a strongly individualistic mindset but she's not doing the hyper-Randian thing anymore, for which I'm grateful. I think someone who likes classic sea stories might like this, as there's a fair bit about battle and maneuverability, but I didn't find it as engaging: George Kirk just can't get me excited the way that the "real crew" can! Still, a more than competent book.

When it comes to Star Trek novels, among the ones that I find the most interesting are those that are set prior to the “five-year mission” chronicled in the original series. What makes them so interesting is the authors’ efforts to fill in the backstories hinted at in the show, often by little more than a throwaway line of dialogue or a onetime appearance in an episode. These novels aren’t canon, but when they’re done right they can provide enjoyable speculations that help to flesh out familiar characters or otherwise unexplored aspects of the Star Trek universe. When they’re done poorly, though, they can be a source of eye-rolling frustration.

Diane Carey’s novel falls squarely into the latter category. In it, James Kirk finds himself questioning his life’s choices after sacrificing Edith Keeler during his trip through the Guardian of Forever in order to secure a Nazi-free future. Back on Earth, he goes through some of the letters his father George wrote while serving in Starfleet. This framing device is used to tell the story of the first-ever adventure of the starship Enterprise, when sabotage sends the uncommissioned (and as-yet-unnamed) vessel hurtling into Romulan space. As the crew works frantically to undo the damage, the ship becomes the target of an ambitious young Romulan officer, who seeks to supplant the noble commander patrolling the region for their empire. As premises go it’s not a bad one, even if elements of it were later contradicted by episodes of the other shows in the franchise.

The problem is with Carey’s depiction of some of her novel’s main characters. As a prequel that is developed mainly from an episode of the animated series, she has virtually a blank canvas on which to draw. Yet her crew is clueless in that annoying “I-need-smart-people-to-be-dumb-in-order-to-advance-my-plot” sort of way. This is particularly true for the ship’s captain, Robert April, who despite supposedly being one of Starfleet’s finest officers is portrayed as a patronizing fool who is almost blindly committed to his values. He is less a believable character than a two-dimensional foil for the novel’s real hero, George Samuel Kirk, whose hawkish choices invariably prove to be the correct ones. While Carey's limited characterization is mitigated somewhat by her portrayal of the Romulans, even here she leans into franchise cliches rather than providing something fresh and different for her readers.

Such ham-handed characterization in service to a militaristic morality play represents an opportunity wasted. Instead of exploring the virgin territory that such a setting provided Carey prefers instead to hammer home her view that a big stick is best used before speaking softly. It’s very much out of character for the values on which the series rests, which when combined with some lazy plotting makes for a novel that most fans of the franchise are best advised to give a pass in favor of ones that are truer to their source material. ( )

A fun romp that explains a secret weapon the Romulans are using in the current generation.
The first voyage of a starship and all the fun and problems that will entail. Make sure your comfortable, this might be one of those you read in one sitting. ( )

I pulled this one off the shelf next because I've been ripping into Diane Carey lately, and she deserved a chance to redeem herself. She manages it here, because despite its many flaws, Final Frontier is a really fun and enjoyable read. The switch from a first-person to a third-person narrator does wonders for Carey's writing style. It cuts down a little on the endless interior monologues that were so annoying in the Lt. Piper books. The background and plot sequence are reasonable if perhaps a little contrived. There is a too much tendency to tell rather than show - whether it's that a certain character is undergoing emotional turmoil, or that a certain passage is thematically important to the book. Memo: if we can't pick up on it without being told explicitly, you didn't do it right, and beating us over the head won't help!

The characters have distinct voices and personalities and are very fun and likable, if lacking in complexity. The villains in particular feel like cardboard cutouts. (But hey, this isn't Hamlet.) Carey is particularly good at humorous banter; add in lots of situational irony and amusing references to other incidents in the TOS canon and there's enough to keep you chuckling and happy throughout the book.

What I liked most about Final Frontier was how well it embodied the spirit of the original TV series: a fun space adventure with good guys trying to do the right thing, bad guys you love to hate, a couple of good battles, a couple of good jokes, and just enough of a serious theme to make it interesting. ( )

A wonderful prequel concerning the maiden flight of the Enterprise, James Kirk's father George, the first meeting of the Federation and the Romulans, and a secret mission that goes as wrong as is possible! The time frame is 25 years before James Kirk takes the helm - and the framing story concerns a crisis of faith and identity for Kirk that hits him after the events of "City on the Edge of Forever." A terrific book, that hits all the right notes. Love it. ( )